This is a potentially emerging disease for humans, though it has not yet jumped from animals to people. The disease is caused by prions, proteins that can cause brain degeneration, and affects deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer and moose. The disease is now established in wildlife found in North America and public health officials have been warning people not to eat meat from animals found to be positive with the disease. The concern is the consumption could cause brain disease in humans. The most known prion disease is mad cow disease, which is caused when a person eats meat from an infected cow.
